Eyes opened slowly, lashes fluttering and a deep exhale slowly rousing Sarah from her sleep. Despite knowing her eyes were open she didn't register what she saw. All she could see was shades of blue. Squeezing her eyes closed she slowly sat up.
Big mistake.
Her stomach revolted as Sarah was introduced to the horrid taste of bile in her mouth. Her stomach twisted. With a sickening splatter she regurgitated what was left of dinner. Doing her best to spit out any remnants out of her mouth, she carefully got up on her knees. Another purge of her stomach hit. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She hated being sick. She hated vomiting.
Taking a minute and waiting for the feeling to dissipate she took calming breaths. Once calmed down and sure that the nausea had subsided enough that she wouldn't puke again she crawled up and took in her surroundings.
It was then that she realized that she definitely wasn't home. Or in the alleyway for that matter. What she did notice was that it was nighttime and rather cold. The woman was in a forest. The trees reached much higher than the trees in the park, towering over her. Their bark was almost unusually smooth and its branches didn't grow until far above her reach. In between their gentle sway she could spot countless stars. Momentarily the woman was distracted by the splendor, letting her eyes roam across the treetops where slivers of night sky presented itself. Suddenly a shiver of panic ran down her spine.
There were two moons.
Rubbing her eyes, she made sure she wasn't seeing double before a sense of strange terror started to crawl along her skin.
Where the hell was she?
Looking around in the seemingly endless forest she tried to find clues. Anything that might indicate where she was. Her eyes fervently scanned the branches around her but there was no sign of the pale owl. There wasn't a sign of anything. There was just endless forestation on an even dirt floor. Letting out a slow breath she willed herself to calm down to try and think rationally.
Did Jareth take her? Why would he? Or had the owl been someone else? Why was she completely alone in the middle of some forest? Had someone dumped her here? A sense of helplessness overcame her, eyes scanning again for anything other than endless trees.
Hell no. She had beat the Labyrinth. She could make her way through a couple trees.
With renewed determination she studied her surroundings. Most directions looked the same so Sarah decided to head in the direction of the moons.
"Halt!" Sarah froze. Literally. She did not dare to move a single inch. "Who goes there?" The voice was male. Stern. Was she supposed to raise her hands in surrender? Or was that a non-magic person thing? Should she run? What if these were the people that had kidnapped her?
"Show yourself!"
Carefully and slowly she turned around to face whoever was yelling at her. As she faced them she wasn't sure what she'd been expecting.
In front of her were a group of three cloaked figures, clad from head to toe in brown. The darkness disguised their faces. They were mounted on creatures that looked like pale deer or antelope with small antlers and thick legs. Definitely creatures she hadn't seen before. One of the men walked closer. "What is your business here? Who do you belong to?"
"B-belong to?" She muttered. "I… I don't know where I am. I woke up in the woods just a minute ago. Someone left me here."
The three exchanged looks and the middle silhouette gestured to one of the others to go to her. After that he directed his attention back to her. "Who do you pledge allegiance to?"
Sarah looked nervously as one of the men dismounted and walked up to her. Involuntarily she took a step back. The cloaked man reached out to her and took her arm, baring her inner wrist.
"She carries no seal."
"Interesting…" The man in the middle uttered. He took off the hood, revealing his face in the dim lighting.
Sarah looked up at the fair skinned man. He had long and dark sleek hair with long pointed ears. His eyes seemed pale and light even in the darkness. He had a triangle shaped marking on his chin and on his forehead, sloping to a point towards the middle of his face.
The figure holding her arm studied her face for a second. He pinched her chin and Sarah flinched but tried not to resist. She wasn't sure what these men were capable of or what they were planning to do with her. "She's mortal, sir." The hooded man declared to the other.
"Mortal?" The man seemed a little too interested all of a sudden. He spurred his mount and walked up to her. "Listen, girl. I am willing to take you under my wing, provide for you and return you home, if you could provide me with a service."
The woman grew a little unnerved and lightly tugged on her arm. The other man tightened his grip. "What service?"
"We have been trying to enter a site not far from here. It is protected by a magical seal. We can't cross it. But you can." She eyed him a little suspiciously. "They have taken hostage several of our camp members. We haven't seen them in days and we don't know what happened to them. We would appreciate your help."
Sarah swallowed, looking at the three men with slight distrust. The man at the center rummaged with something on his hip and handed it to her. "My name is Torin. I'm not certain how long you have been wandering these woods but it's not safe at night. You can praise yourself lucky that we have found you before anything else did. That," he said as he gestured to the item he just handed her. "Is a water skin. You look like you could use something to drink. Will you help us retrieve our men and their families? I would be greatly indebted to you and will help you in any way that I can."
Sarah looked up at Torin, weighing her options for a moment before slowly nodding. "Okay."
"Thank you, my lady." Relief was evident in his voice. "Please, let me escort you to our camp. We can offer you food and shelter. Valen, give the girl a cloak. The poor thing must be freezing."
"Certainly, sir." The man next to her walked over to his mount, not releasing her until he was standing next to the beast. Sarah still hadn't seen his face as it was masked in the darkness. He grabbed a large and thick cloth from a saddlebag and assisted her in putting it on. "May I?" He held out a hand to the saddle and Sarah nodded reluctantly. Seemingly without effort he took her waist and helped her mount the creature. Valen sat behind her and grabbed the reins. Before Sarah could say or do anything they steered the beasts around and spurred them. With large strides the creatures trotted through the trees.
Soon Sarah saw a light in the distance. There was a clearing with a dozen tents, some storage areas, livestock and campfires. As they were making their way through the camp a few men spotted them. They looked at her as if she was some sort of alien, whispering among themselves.
Valen dismounted and helped her down. As she straightened her clothes Torin walked up to her. "Forgive my poor manners. Once I heard you were mortal, all I could think of was that there was hope yet for those that were taken. Might I ask for your name?" His voice was strangely impatient as he walked her through the camp.
"Linda," she lied smoothly. "My name is Linda."
"Linda? Such an exotic sounding name. Are you from the North?"
"I… I am not sure where I am, sir. I can't tell where I am from in comparison."
Torin chuckled. "You make a valid point. We will look into procuring some maps tomorrow." He gestured to a tent and Sarah entered quietly. Inside there was a rather young woman knitting something. She looked to be around twenty years old. Sarah subtly looked towards Valen. He seemed old enough to be about thirty five years old. It gave her the creeps. "Cora, I have brought a visitor." The woman looked up, tired pale eyes meeting Sarah's. She brushed her black hair out of her face and smiled politely. "This is Linda, a mortal girl. Linda, this is Cora. She is my wife."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cora." Sarah offered kindly.
"The pleasure is all mine. Would you perhaps like some tea?"
"That is very kind, but no thank you. I wouldn't want to disturb your knitting."
The woman simply nodded and Torin smiled, ushering her to a different corner of the tent. "Please, sit." She took off the cloak and sat down, neatly laying it across her lap as he joined her. "So, lady Linda. As mentioned, we will request your services in exchange for resources and safe passage home. If I may be so bold I would like to discuss a rescue plan for my people first." Sarah nodded quietly and he smiled again. "Wonderful. It is imperative that we get them back as soon as possible. There is no telling what they have already done or will do to them." The woman nodded again. "We have been scouting the area for the past few days. Yesterday we ran into the barrier they put up. It is a spell that will prevent any creatures with magic from entering it. There might be an opening somewhere, but it could take weeks to locate and by then it might be too late. However, if you could enter this barrier you could free my people. They can leave the barrier without issue. We can wait nearby to collect you as soon as we can reach you. It is a rather simple plan, but one we can't do without you. Can you help with this?" His pale eyes bore into hers in a strangely hypnotizing way, his fine brows drawn together. Sarah stiffened as one of his hands came to rest on hers. The urge to pull back was damn near impossible, especially when he squeezed it and his thumb rubbed back and forth on the back of her hand.
"Uh… I… I don't think I'm any good at rescue missions…" She said feebly. "But I couldn't live with myself knowing these people were abducted and I didn't even try to help." She wondered if Cora would approve of him holding her hand.
"You will do it then?" Torin asked quietly. As she nodded and looked up at him, he let out a boisterous laugh. "Oh, that is wonderful. You are our savior, Linda! I propose we head out tomorrow at nightfall. The cover of night will do us many favors. In the meantime I will send out my men to retrieve maps for you so you can return to your own people. While we work on that I will make sure you'll want for nothing."
"That is very kind, sir."
"Now, it is late already and you must be tired from your wanderings. I will leave you with my wife. She will take care of you. I will need to discuss tomorrow's rescue mission with my men. Please do not hesitate to request food, clothing or anything else you might need." Torin jumped up from his seat and hurried out the tent.
Sarah sat awkwardly on the chair, quietly looking around the tent. There were a handful of candles scattered throughout the tent which made her wonder if that might be a fire hazard. There was a small table, a few chairs and some hay mattresses. Cora was still quietly knitting on one of the chairs on the other side of the tent. Sarah got up and walked over to her. "Hi, Cora. Your knitting work is very pretty. Is there perhaps anything I can help with?"
Cora looked up at her. "Thank you, Linda. But I propose we head to bed soon. It is late and I am rather tired. My husband will likely not return anytime soon."
"Yes, of course. I will take whichever sleeping arrangement you have. I am grateful simply for your hospitality."
Cora raised from her seat and put down her knitting work. She walked over to one of the hay beds and fluffed a pillow for her. "I hope you don't mind that I assign you this one. It is my daughter's. She is one of those taken a few days ago so she won't need it."
Sarah crouched down next to the woman who quietly caressed the pillow. "I am very sorry, Cora. I will do what I can to bring them back tomorrow. I promise."
The woman looked at her, a hollow smile stretching on her lips. Somehow she seemed devoid of energy, leaving her in a zombie-like state. Though Sarah had to admit if she'd had a daughter that had been missing for days, not even knowing if she was alive she would feel pretty terrible too.
Cora went to extinguish the candles while Sarah removed her jacket and crawled under the blanket to get comfortable. The bed wasn't really comfortable, but hopefully it would only be for one night. Wordlessly, they went to sleep.
—-
Sarah woke up with a start. Did someone just call her name? Her heart was racing against her chest and her hands were trembling. It took a few minutes to calm down. The next few seconds were filled with the memories of the things that happened yesterday. Chatter outside the tent was drifting into her ears.
She had woken up at least five times last night. Every time she was met with an eerie silence. Torin never had seemed to have returned and Cora had left after the third time she had woken up. Vaguely she remembered Cora by her bed at some point in the night, her body somewhat sore and seemingly sedated. It was creepy, but it might have been just a dream.
Sarah wondered what time it was. There wasn't a clock that could tell her the time. All she knew was that it was bright outside the tent. Her mouth was dry and her throat a little sore. Her body had that strange hum of a healing muscle ache. As she climbed up she spotted the water skin on the table. Something in her compelled her not to trust it. While Torin had been nice to her, maybe a bit too nice, her dropping in only a small distance from their camp and them needing an ordinary person to help them seemed just a little too convenient. What if he was the one that took her here?
She grabbed her jacket and the cloak, putting them on. Reluctantly she walked to the entrance of the tent and peered out. The camp was relatively quiet. A few men were standing nearby. Two talked among themselves. Sarah couldn't help but recognize one of their voices. Carefully she walked over to them. Before she could even speak up one of the men spotted her.
"Ah, Linda, was it?" The man had dark brown hair and a rather stern looking face walked up to her. "Torin asked me to stay nearby in case you needed anything." The voice was definitely recognizable. Rough like a smoker and almost unusually low.
"Thank you, Valen. That is very kind."
"You remember my name, I'm impressed." Sarah wasn't sure if that was meant as a compliment or some sort of backhanded insult. "If you like, you can collect dinner for yourself. You might not have the time to join the others before the retrieval of our people."
The woman blinked in confusion. Dinner? Had she slept that long? Why? How? She followed the direction Valen was pointing in, seeing a large tent near the center of the camp. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate your hospitality. I will make sure to be quick. I wouldn't want to keep Torin waiting." Valen and the other man looked at her silently as they seemed to be waiting for her to leave. Awkwardly, Sarah walked on towards the large tent. They seemed civilized enough but she couldn't help feeling that strange crawl in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps, this was just their culture. Maybe they weren't big on talking. Regardless, it was unnerving.
As she walked into the tent there was a large table carrying bread and broth. Despite not having eaten the entirety of the day she wasn't hungry. Her stomach still felt upset. She sat down at one of the tables by herself, empty handed. There were a few other people but none of them seemed to even notice her. They looked at their meal or were in deep conversation. They used a different language that Sarah didn't understand.
As her fingers traced the patterns of the table she was sitting on, her mind started to wander. She had so many questions. She still had no idea where she was. Was she Underground? Or was this a different world? The people here reminded her of elves, much like Jareth did. They spoke different languages and all seemed rather tall. Their mannerisms Sarah could easily chalk up to cultural differences. After all, not all humans in her own world were the same.
Jareth had mentioned before that the Labyrinth was only a small part of his world. Even just a small part of the land he ruled over. Besides, she was pretty sure she was brought here by a barn owl. That had to be related in some way to Jareth… Right? Was he nearby? Should she ask anyone here if they knew where he was?
Sarah shook her head. No. Not until she knew more about these people. She was still reluctant to trust them. For now she would just try to locate the prisoners beyond the barrier and free them. She needed to take one step at a time. She could imagine that much like she wasn't too sure about them yet they might feel the same about her. Torin just relied on her now out of necessity. He didn't have a choice. His friends and family were gone and apparently only she could help them.
She wondered how Jareth was doing. She still wasn't sure what exactly he was dealing with. Perhaps he was involved in what was happening in this camp. Maybe he was a part of this rescue mission. She hadn't seen him yet, but then again she had barely seen anything or anyone in this camp.
Sarah decided to head back out and explore the camp to see if she could find either Jareth or Torin. Standing up resolutely as she looked towards the entrance of the tent she suddenly noticed Valen standing by the entrance. As their eyes met he quickly looked away.
Was she being guarded, or were they watching her?
Well, if she had been hungry that thought would have surely taken care of any appetite. With a huff she settled back down and started to trace her fingers along the texture of the table again.
As her mind wandered left to right a million different thoughts crossed her mind. Would Jareth be upset if he found her here? Or would he be happy to see her? What if she failed the rescue mission? What if she got caught within the barrier by whoever was standing on the other side? What if she managed to escape but would be unable to free the people that were taken and Torin was upset with her? What if all people that had been taken prisoner were already dead?
Sarah groaned and put her head in her hand, elbow resting on the table. This train of thought certainly wasn't getting her anywhere. For now she decided to focus on remaining calm and passing the time while she waited for Torin. She was sure Valen would come to pick her up when it was time.
A little while later several men suddenly walked into the tent, jolting her out of her musings and distractions. One of them spotted Valen and talked to him after which Valen gestured towards her.
Sarah grew rigid as all the men looked at her and approached her. Torin wasn't with them.
"My lady, please come with us," one of the men said.
"W-what for?" Her voice was wavering as she sat up straight while looking at the men one by one.
"We are ready to escort you to retrieve our people."
Sarah let out a breath of relief. She nodded and got up from her seat. "Yes, yes of course. Where is Torin?"
"Sir Torin is unfortunately unable to join us. We will take you to his location tonight. He will see you then to fulfill his word." The man gestured to the entrance of the tent. "I propose we get ready. It will take some time to walk there and night is falling." Sarah nodded as the guards escorted her out. Looking behind her she noticed Valen followed the group as they left the tent.
—-
Sarah gazed at the trees around her. She couldn't tell if this was the same place she'd been at yesterday. Everything in this place looked the same, even with the light of the setting sun to aid her vision. Luckily she wasn't alone here or she would have gone in circles. They'd been walking for what was probably an hour now and it was getting dark quickly.
Looking at the men next to her she couldn't help but still feel a little awkward. Two of them were in front of her and four of them behind her of which one was Valen. They were wearing their cloaks with the hoods raised. She could still make out a little bit of their faces but not a lot.
Her hood was still resting on her back. While she still could, she wanted to look around. Her eyes briefly met Valen's when she looked behind her but he simply looked ahead without any further reaction.
Sarah gasped as her foot jammed into something, followed by the rest of her body. Looking ahead she noticed she'd literally ran into one of the guards ahead of her. She blushed deeply, quickly stepping back. "Ah, I'm terribly sorry, sir."
"We're here," the man announced as he turned around. He ignored her apology.
Taking in her surroundings she felt confused. "I… I don't see anything. Where is the magic barrier?"
"It is not visible to the naked eye. But we can sense it." Stepping aside he gestured ahead. "You should find your destination in a five to ten minute walk. Simply locate our families and send them this way. They should be able to leave the barrier without any trouble."
Sarah looked ahead, then up at the tall man. "Are there guards? What if I get caught?"
"Don't get caught," he said simply.
"Great advice, thanks." She looked away quickly as the man narrowed his eyes at her and she rigidly hurried past him. "I'll be as quick as I can."
As she left the men behind her she mumbled irritably. "Well, since no one else is saying it. Good luck, me. You can do this," the woman insisted. "Hopefully," she added uncomfortably.
Looking back she saw the men huddled into the trees, sitting on the floor. They weren't looking at her. This made her realize she had nothing but Torin's word that she would be sent home. He could simply decide not to honor his promise and leave her to fend for herself. Or worse.
A shiver crawled down Sarah's spine. She tried to think of her family and what they would be up to right now. They must be worried sick.
It was then that her blood ran cold.
What if the people that had caught her had also taken Toby? What if Toby was wandering these woods all alone? What if the people that had caught Torin's daughter and kin, had also captured Toby? Nervously, Sarah looked around. She hadn't seen him in the alley before the unknown stranger had come for her. Why did she only think of this now?
Perhaps she could persuade Torin to look for Toby as well. She would retrieve his daughter for him, the least he could do was help her locate her brother…
Sarah huddled closer into her cloak and put on the hood. Suddenly, she felt very alone. She still could barely believe this was happening. If only she had the notebook. Maybe if she'd written insistently enough Jareth would have gotten worried and would have come to help. But of course the one time she went outside without it, this happened.
Then, in the distance she heard an ear splitting screech.
The hairs along her arms and on the back of her neck raised and her skin crawled. A wave of dizziness and a stabbing pain in her head briefly surfaced. With a panicked gasp she anxiously looked around. As her eyes scanned the trees all she could see was the night sky beyond the treetops.
Taking a calming breath Sarah quickened her pace. The sooner she could get this over with, the better.
Suddenly her surroundings started swimming and an intense feeling of nausea overcame her. She curled her hand to a fist and held it in front of her mouth, trying to keep her footing. Bracing against a tree she took a few deep breaths and looked around her wearily. "Don't puke, Sarah. Don't do it," she whispered to herself. It was then that she started to notice her skin felt like it was heating up, like a spontaneous fever.
The woman worried that this was the barrier and even though she wasn't a magical being, it still had an effect on her. That, or perhaps the people that had abducted the camp members had realized that a barrier against magic creatures left a wide gap for non-magic creatures to waltz right in. She couldn't be the only one without magic in this place.
Briefly she wondered if she should turn back. She figured Valen and the others wouldn't take to that too kindly. She'd come this far, she couldn't turn back now. Likely the guards would just send her back and she would have to go through this a second time. And if that was the case she was definitely going to throw up.
She had to move. Every second she was standing still here made her feel worse and worse. With shaking hands she willed her legs to move, hoping she was still going the way that she'd been heading so far. The world started spinning, the trees bending around her into a sickening tunnel. There was a burning sharpness on her chest. Mentally she kept urging herself not to throw up. As she continued to move, haphazardly bumping into a few trees, slowly the nausea started dissipating but the shaking of her hands became worse.
In the distance she could hear people and through her blurry vision she could see light in the distance. As quick as she could she hid behind a tree, sinking onto the floor. Muttering a curse under her breath the woman tried to regain her senses.
Closing her eyes, every fiber of her being begged her to stay awake. But she needed a second to shake off the dizziness. Only for a second.
And promptly she passed out.